


Consonance

by Ehards29



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: First Kiss, Happy Ending, Man if This Ain't the Best Couple, Post-Promised Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:14:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29391075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ehards29/pseuds/Ehards29
Summary: Mustang and Hawkeye deserve a freakin' happy ending so I gave them one! Just a sweet little one-shot set post-Promised Day. Enjoy!
Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	Consonance

The hospital room had previously been abuzz with the commotion of Mustang’s team going over documents and plans for their move back to Eastern Command, where they would all be greeted with promotions and a heading helping of paperwork. That was how they were going to rebuild Ishval apparently, one expense report at a time. Not that Colonel Mustang was entirely opposed to the idea of things getting back to normal, as things were anything but normal right now.

His eyesite had been taken away from him, only to be given back to him days later by use of a Philosopher’s Stone. Pretty much the entire upper ranks of the government had been revealed to be involved in a plot to use the citizens of Armestris to grant them immortality. He had been though the portal, seen and felt the origin of all alchemy. Although the Colonel would never consider himself anything but a man of science, how he was still alive after all that was nothing short of a miracle.

The experience had left scars, both physically and mentally. He was scared to close his eyes, for fear that if he opened them, his world would still be shrouded in darkness. Or he would see the pure hate in Bradley’s eyes as he pinned him to the ground like a bug under a microscope. Or he would feel the pull of his body and soul being torn though the Gate, the pain of his mind being stretched to its limits, absorbing all of the knowledge he never asked for. Or, the worst image of all. Her limp body spilled across the floor of the lab like a rag doll, the flow of crimson from her throat staining the ground red. The knowledge that his Lieutenant was dying, and there was nothing he could do about it.

All the preparation, all the planning, the code names, the clandestine work into the short hours of the night, the faith his team put in him. None of it had prepared him for that moment when she was taken from him. She had been ready to lay her life down for him just like they always talked about, but he was not ready for the reality that she would have to. He never, never wanted to feel that feeling again. The vast emptiness of his life without her by his side. The fear of loss that made him feel like a helpless child, alone in a busy market.

Colonel Mustang was snapped out of his thoughts by the rustle of linens in the bed next to his. She was awake. He turned toward Lieutenant Hawkeye, watching as she was stirred from a shallow sleep. He knew sleep did not come easy to her either. She turned toward him to meet his gaze and greeted him with a small smile. _It’s the little victories_ , he thought to himself.

“How are your eyes, sir?” She asked him, her gaze softly meeting his.

"They’re better, thank you Lieutenant. I'm grateful, there are so many beautiful things to see.” He held his gaze steady on her, and smiled as her cheeks turned pink with flush.

“And your neck? How are you feeling?” Riza reached toward the pink of her healing scar with a light touch, she was still getting use to feeling it there. It had stopped hurting after the first three days in the hospital and was beginning to slightly itch as the skin began its healing process. _Our bodies heal with a little bit of rest and medicine_ , she thought wistfully. _If only our souls could heal so easily._

“It feels better each day, sir. I imagine we will be discharged from the hospital soon. And good thing too, I am not sure how many more days I can stare at the same four walls.” Riza let out a small sigh.

“Oh, so eager to be staring at the same four walls of our office again?” Roy laughed.

“I’m too busy keeping you on task to spend my days staring at the walls, sir.” Riza shot back at him. It felt good to be back at their normal teasing banter, but Colonel Mustang knew they were dancing around the subject. Thing were not normal, not even close. The façade that they were just subordinate and commanding officer, Lieutenant and Colonel, friends, veterans, partners. All of that was gone in the moment they thought they had lost each other. Maybe it was never even there to begin with. Oh no, they were much more than all that. 

“Would you care to go for a walk on the grounds with me, Lieutenant?”

“I would love to, sir.”

Ever since Doctor Knox and Marco had used a Philosopher’s Stone to restore the Colonel’s vision, he was amazed at how vivid the colors of his world were. He had always been so busy working toward his goal of moving up the ranks, that he never took the time to look around him and remember that Armestris was a truly beautiful country. Its people deserved so much more than lies and deceit, to be used as human pawns in a game they didn’t even know they were playing. They deserved a better future. He felt his heart almost burst with the desire to give it to them. The mid-afternoon sun bounced of the bright yellows of the daffodils lining the garden of the hospital courtyard, making them look like miniature suns. A quick smile crept to his lips. Lieutenant Hawkeye noticed the change in his expression.

“What are you thinking about, sir? If you don’t mind me asking?” Mustang turned to face her. They had been walking at a slow pace around the garden for about 15 minutes, neither of them speaking. Just enjoying the peace of the moment.

“Oh, nothing special, just thinking about how many things I have taken for granted up until now. But no more.” He reached down and picked a daffodil from the ground, handing it to his Lieutenant. No, handing it to Riza. The woman he loved with every part of him.

“Oh my, thank you sir. It’s beautiful.” She put the flower to her nose and inhaled deeply. Her eyes began to water as she let out a small sneeze. “A-choo!” Riza scrunched up her nose and let out a quick laugh. Roy thought it was the sweetest thing he had ever seen.

"Now you see why I don’t own a flower vase”, she smiled sheepishly. Colonel Mustang fought with all his willpower against his desire to kiss her in the moment. _No_ , he thought. _I need to do this right. She deserves to know the truth_.

“Why don’t we have a seat over here Lieutenant?” He gestured to a nearby bench overlooking a small fountain. “I just want to take it all in for a bit.”

He took her hand and led her to the bench, where they both sat with their knees barely touching. It was not long ago that such physical closeness would have raised eyebrows, but they were finally alone, and neither of them cared too much. They had both been through hell and came back to tell the tale. Everything else felt so small in comparison. When he looked down at their hands, he realized their fingers were still interwoven. It just felt so natural, like they should have been that way always. She was studying his face, watching to decipher what he was thinking. They had been together for so long, learned all each other’s secrets, there was no way she didn’t know exactly what was on his mind.

“Lieutenant”, he started.

“Hmm, sir? What is it?” She ask. The earnestness in her eyes made his heart want to burst. _What did I do to deserve her?_

“I…” Mustang felt at a loss of words. Roy had practiced this exact speech in his mind over and over again, ignoring Breda as he rattled off Ishvalan facts and figures as he sat blind in his hospital bed, thinking of nothing but her. And now that the moment had come to tell her the truth, he was scared. _How pathetic_ , he thought. _The Flame Alchemist, the Hero of Ishval, the leader of the military coup against King Bradley, is scared to tell a girl he loves her._ No he could not be scared, regardless of the outcome. A tectonic shift had occurred between them and it needed to be addressed.

“Lieutenant, you saved me", he started. "Well, you have saved me so many times, but you pulled me back when I was going to do something terrible, when I was going to give into my rage, my vengeance. When I was going to lose myself, forever.” Mustang cleared his throat, feeling tears begin to form at the corner of his eyes as he remembered the sound of her cocking her weapon, the pain in her voice as she told him not to go where she could not follow. When she told him that she would remove herself from this world if he gave into his hate. He felt Riza give his hand a small squeeze of encouragement. 

“I realized in that moment, that if I lost you then…then I would never be able to tell you the truth. But then they took you away from me and as I saw that sword across your throat, I realized that I had failed. All this time, I was so focused on my future that I didn’t take the time to appreciate the present. Appreciate you and all you do for me. All you have given up for me. Everything you mean to me.” Roy paused, steading his voice. “And how much I love you.”

He looked into Riza’s eyes and saw them grow wide with surprise.

“Sir...I…” She stuttered.

“I know, I know we have a million reason why this cannot be”, he continued. “But I don’t care anymore. I don’t ever, ever want another day to go by without you knowing how much I need you, how much you mean to me. I want to wake up each morning knowing I have another day ahead of me to make you happy. It’s the least I could do.” The Colonel could see his Lieutenant’s eyes grow wet from the tears that threatened to spring at any moment. He frowned.

“Well, I’ve done it again haven’t I? I’ve made you cry.” He cupped her face, whipping her tears away gently with his thumb. She leaned her face into his hand. I felt perfect, like the final missing piece of a puzzle.

“No, sir, it’s not that.” Riza said quietly. She moved her face from his touch, it felt almost physically painful to break away from him.

“It’s just, we're so close, so close, sir. We have been through enough suffering to last a thousand lifetimes, but we are so damn close to our goal. We can finally finish what we started in Ishval, we can finally set ourselves and this country free. But if we are found out, all of that could be gone in a blink of an eye. Everything we worked so hard for, suffered for, gone.” Riza starred down at the ground beneath the bench. It was not so long ago they were under that very ground fighting for their lives against a monster so awful it was impossible to even believe he ever existed. And now here they were, years and years’ worth of words left unspoken spilling out all at once. It was almost too much to take.

Colonel Mustang picked up her chin so she was looking him dead in the eye, their faces only inches away from each other.

“I know Lieutenant, I know.” As his onyx eyes locked on to hers, she was remind of how cloudy they had been not all that long ago. But now they shown with an intense brilliance that nearly took her breath away. _He’s serious about this_ , she thought.

“I know the risks, I understand”, he continued. “But I don’t care. Not anymore. It’s over. Bradley is gone, the senior staff that colluded with him are gone with him. No more Father, no more homunculus. No more plots to start wars that kill innocents in order to make Philosopher’s Stones. No more fear, no more suffering. Grumman is in charge of the country and in a few weeks’ times we will be in charge of Eastern Command and the Ishvalian rebuilding effort. And most important.” He paused, taking both of her hands in his. “Most important of all we are alive. I have everything I could have ever wanted and more right here, right now.”

“But what about becoming Führer, sir? If we…if we cross this line, it could cost you the chance to become the leader we always dreamed you would be. Heaven knows General Armstrong will be looking for anything to use against you on her race to the top.”

“Like I said, I don’t care. If me being with you means I don’t become Führer, well, then I guess that means I won’t be Führer. Besides, loving someone seems like an awful silly reason to be excluded from leading a country if you ask me.” Roy gave her a soft smile.

Riza sighed. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart and a million emotions were flooding out all at once. She loved this man so damn much, but she had long ago given up any childish dreams of them being together. When she thought about them, their relationship to each other, it felt almost as if they existed solely to atone for their sins, to suffer, alone. She had long ago mourned the loss of what could have been and accepted what was because there could be no other way. They were dogs of the military, they were killers draped in metals and accolades they did not deserve. How could such creatures ever be deserving of something so pure, so good, as love?

And yet, as she looked into his eyes in this moment of absolute intimacy she never in a million years thought they would have, she was beginning to finally see. Maybe they had atoned already. Maybe it was enough she had brought him back from the darkness, that he had saved her life, that he had lost his sight, only to see the clearest he had ever before. Maybe it was all finally, finally enough. Before she could stop herself, Riza felt her hot tears begin to stream down her face.

“Colonel…I.” Riza stammered. His gaze never wavered from her eyes.

“I know you feel it too, Riza.” It was the first time he has used her first name, her real name, since they were children at her father’s estate. When Roy was a young and eager student of her father’s alchemy and she a love struck child.

“Of course I do, sir.” She correct herself. “Of course I do, Roy.” His name felt saccharine sweet in her mouth, like the most delicious of candies.

“Of course I do,” she whispered. Riza could feel her carefully constructed walls falling in all around her as her tears fell with abandon to her lap. All of the years of desire to be held by him, loved by him, all of the knowledge that he could never be hers fell away piece by piece. Roy joined her in her tears as they held each other close. 

"Can I kiss you, Riza?” He whispered softly into her ear.

“Yes, sir. It would be an honor.” She laughed as he gave her a quizzical look. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”

Colonel Mustang tipped Lieutenant Hawkeye’s chin toward him and slowly pressed his lips to hers, as softly as he could manage. He did not want to forget one second of this, the moment he had dreamed of for so many years. He could feel her exhale and melt into his kiss as their bodies moved closer to each other, the kiss growing in intensity as their inhibitions faded away into the afternoon sun. It was just as perfect as he had hoped. They both broke away to catch their breath, their hearts pumping a million miles an hour.

“So, are we going to tell the team, sir?” Riza asked him cautiously. “I think they deserve to know, besides I’m sure there is some serious money at stake.” She smiled.

Roy’s let out a loud laugh. “Ha ha, I’m sure there is! In time, Lieutenant. For now, I want you all to myself.”

Riza blushed at his mischievous smirk. She nestled her head on Roy's shoulder and took in the smell of the garden, the sound of the fountain and the beat of his heart. She wanted to bottle this moment up and drink it in forever. Finally, finally they were one and it was so damn beautiful it almost hurt.

From the third floor windows overlooking the courtyard, audible cries of “yahoo!” and “ow ow!” could be heard from Breda, Falman, Fuery and Havoc as they watched their Colonel and Lieutenant finally end the years of speculation and betting with one hell of a kiss. Money was shuffled around from pocket to pocket as Team Mustang distributed everyone’s appropriate winnings for the “will they or wont’ they” bet. Fuery grasped at his lapel and wiped a tear from his eye.

“Oh love, isn’t it just wonderful?” He smiled even as Havoc gave him a soft hit to the shoulder and called him a softy.

Colonel Mustang caught sight of the gang watching them from the window and pulled Hawkeye toward him for another deep kiss as he flipped his team the bird. Riza laughed into his mouth as exclamations of “Hey!” and “What the hell!” came showering down from the window.

Yes, she was sure she had never felt such happiness. And this was just the beginning.


End file.
